Yesterday was the first day of the FTC’s Broadband Connectivity Competition Policy public workshop, which is examining the competition and consumer protection issues involved with broadband Internet access, including Internet neutrality issues. There were two themes that came out of the first day that CDT was glad to observe: a desire to dig deeper into the intricacies of the issues being discussed, and a move to generate new thinking and original solutions beyond what has already been offered.

FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras began the day by describing her desire to bring the information gleaned from dozens of in-depth private meetings on Internet connectivity issues into the public debate. Many other workshop participants also expressed the need to go beyond sound bites and drill down on the issues. Broadband Internet connectivity involves many complex technical, business, and legal arrangements. From the standpoint of an agency like the FTC which is contemplating its appropriate role in this area, it is of utmost importance that all of these complexities be fully understood. CDT has been working in this vein and is pleased to see that so many others feel the need to leave the rhetoric behind and gain a deeper understanding of the issues.

FTC Commissioner Jon Leibowitz kicked off the afternoon portion of the workshop by discussing his search for a “third way� solution to the Internet neutrality issue. Many of the day’s participants echoed this idea, discussing the need for balance in any policy that is adopted. Participants across the fields of economics, engineering, and consumer advocacy all expressed displeasure with extreme solutions. They are looking for original ideas that stakeholders on all sides will find workable, as is CDT. We were glad to hear this feeling expressed so many times, and we look forward to continuing to work together to develop solutions that everyone can agree on.

Videos and transcripts from all of the workshop’s panels and speakers are available here.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 14th, 2007 at 1:07 pm and is filed under Internet Neutrality. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.